Nintendo's Mobile Push to Focus on Marketing Demos, Not Full Games

[RighteousNixon]

It didn't hurt them much last time when the Wii was a generation behind everything else. Thing is, they had something there to help move it off store shelves: motion control and a lot of nice games to go along with it. With the WiiU, they don't have that. There's absolutely no reason to grab one that I can see.

But the 3DS? It's doing fine.

And yeah, I'll probably get a PS4 once I get tired of my PS3.

Not only have they not given people a reason to buy one, many of the people that purchased the original Wii have moved on from console gaming altogether. A LOT of the casual gamers that Nintendo was so successful at bringing on board with the Wii have moved on to handhelds and social games like Farmville. Nintendo gave those people a reason to try console gaming, but ultimately it wasn't able to keep those people playing. Thats why the 360 ad PS3 sell more software than the Wii, even tho the Wii has sold twice as many consoles.

 

[fertilized-egg]

I think I'm the only gamer in this thread.

Nintendo has about 10-15 billion dollars in cash right now. Saying they are about to fail over one possible failure of a console is hilarious.

10-15 billion? Why such a large range? Nintendo's financial statement is public and you can check it on financial sites.

Using today's conversion rate, Nintendo's combined holdings in cash, short-term investment and long-term investment in the past five years look like this in the US$:

2009: $12,423.25
2010: $12,632.80
2011: $11,784.29
2012: $9,986.62
2013: $9,870.74

That's still a lot of cash but not only Nintendo no longer has "10-15 billion" in the bank, they used up a significant amount of money in the past few years. If Nintendo doesn't produce a big hit in a couple of years and keeps losing cash, it's inevitable the investors will demand something different.

 

[haruhiko]

It's not that I don't want to play Mario—it's that I don't want to carry around yet another device to play Mario.

If anyone can push up the price of games on iOS it's Nintendo. Put Mario on there for $20-30 and you'll sell tens of millions of downloads. Or Starfox, or Zelda, or Mariocart, or...ALL OF THOSE!

Build in support for the controller API in all games and do this: Release a Nintendo for iOS Starter Bundle. It's a Nintendo quality, branded controller with rechargeable battery that comes bundled with a Lightning to HDMI cable for $99. Extra controllers are $59. The battery and charger kit is $29. The HDMI cable is $29. Brand everything strongly with Nintendo. Make them in multiple colors. Do what you do best, Nintendo. Make great games and controllers.

They could do the same thing with handhelds: $99 Nintendo iPhone controller battery case.

Lastly, import the Nintendo back-catalog of games for iOS. NES games for $2.99. SNES games for $4.99. N64 games for $7.99. Gamecube games for $9.99. Wii games for $14.99. I can think of at least a dozen NES, SNES and N64 games that I would pick up, along with few Gamecube and Wii games. That's a few hundred dollars that I would gladly spend to get old titles on my iPad and iPhone. I know a lot of people who would pay for this too.

I think it's inevitable that Nintendo will have to make games for smartphone platforms. But how long will they continue to let their pride get in their way? I hope that they don't go under before they realize it.

I like this idea. Nintendo needs to actually leverage on the smartphone (particularly iPhone) market, instead of releasing lame demo/ad apps.

 

[Gudi]

Is anyone here actually a gamer?

Good question, is memory training suddenly considered gaming? Is exercising a fitness app the same as a work-out? With the Wii motion controller, Nintendo has repositioned itself in the elderly care business. But are all those new console buyers actually gamers?

 

[Renzatic]

Not only have they not given people a reason to buy one, many of the people that purchased the original Wii have moved on from console gaming altogether. A LOT of the casual gamers that Nintendo was so successful at bringing on board with the Wii have moved on to handhelds and social games like Farmville. Nintendo gave those people a reason to try console gaming, but ultimately it wasn't able to keep those people playing.

This is more or less true. The Wii thrived because it brought a lot of moms, dads, and grandparents into the gaming fold. Motion controls were simple and direct enough that just about anyone could pick up and play them. They offered fun, casual games to go alongside the usual Nintendo fair, and people loved it for that.

...then touch devices came out, and gave these people an even simpler way to interact with games in a more convenient package. Since the people the Wii brought in weren't part of the "hardcore" crowd, they didn't have any brand allegiance, and they moved on to the next better thing. Now the WiiU is suffering because of that. It's a console without a market.

Though beyond the Wii, I'd say that Nintendo's biggest strength has always been their handhelds. The GBA brought them through the Gamecube downturn, and the DS sold as many, if not more, devices than the Wii. The 3DS will likely carry them through the WiiU, so I wouldn't call them a dead company just yet, but they do need to change their formula around if they want to succeed again in the future.

 

[ZOZO]

The iPhone and the iPad aren't hurting Nintendo's handheld sales. People buy dedicated consoles for dedicated gaming, not an endless runner. Nintendo's handhelds will continue to do well as long as they continue to be smart about their marketing and supply of games. You can't compare a game like A Link Between Worlds with Jetpack Joyride. It simply doesn't work.

Nintendo MUST change their home console strategy. That much is true. But they don't need to eliminate it altogether and devalue their IP by putting it on iOS. Like I said earlier, the proposal is no different than telling Apple to license out iOS or OS X because the iPhone 5c didn't sell as well as expected.

I love how you cherry-pick games on iOS that prove your point. Here are a few titles to compare to 3DS games: Infinity Blade I II and III, Galaxy on Fire 2 HD and N.O.V.A 3. There are others, but these are the 5 games that come to mind. You can't seriously tell me that these games are not console-quality. There are now a wide selection of high-quality 3D games on the app store, and the list is growing.

 

[haruhiko]

Good question, is memory training suddenly considered gaming? Is exercising a fitness app the same as a work-out? With the Wii motion controller, Nintendo has repositioned itself in the elderly care business. But are all those new console buyers actually gamers?

I haven't heard people saying that in order to comment on any threads about smartphones you have to be a "smartphoner"

 

[Mr. Gates]

The WII looks and feels like a toy for a baby.
Like a Fisher Price toy.
It's awkward to hold and the graphics look like something from 2004

 

[SoAnyway]

This is not the beginning of the end of Nintendo but looking like another nail in their coffin.

I had some memorable times with Nintendo. It was fun gaming on my NES, SNES, N64, Game Cube, Gameboy, GBA, and Nintendo DS.

I mostly haven't had the time to devote to video games the past few years so I skipped out on Nintendo's last console offerings. However, if they managed to get their catalog on iOS, they might get me back as a loyal customer. Otherwise, I will be sad to see them go.

 

[fertilized-egg]

Good question, is memory training suddenly considered gaming? Is exercising a fitness app the same as a work-out? With the Wii motion controller, Nintendo has repositioned itself in the elderly care business. But are all those new console buyers actually gamers?

I haven't heard people saying that in order to comment on any threads about smartphones you have to be a "smartphoner"

The ironic part is Nintendo fans used to put up with the same derogatory "casual gamer" remarks from Nintendo naysayers and yet they are using the same logic to dismiss smartphone games. Many titles like Nintendogs and Animal Crossing would make wonderful mobile games, even Dragon Quest 9.

I love how you cherry-pick games on iOS that prove your point. Here are a few titles to compare to 3DS games: Infinity Blade I II and III, Galaxy on Fire 2 HD and N.O.V.A 3.

One word: XCOM. The Enemy Unknown is pretty much a full "mature" console game ported to be played on mobile devices.

 

[ctrlshft]

Once Nintendo wakes up and realizes their power is in their software IP not janky hardware IP, they'll get on board with iOS and enjoy all the $$$ they're wasting on inaction.

 

[69650]

He's still looking the wrong way while the ship sinks. Nintendo will end up another Sega with no hardware business and a handful of dwindling games to call their own.

 

[cmChimera]

I love how you cherry-pick games on iOS that prove your point. Here are a few titles to compare to 3DS games: Infinity Blade I II and III, Galaxy on Fire 2 HD and N.O.V.A 3. There are others, but these are the 5 games that come to mind. You can't seriously tell me that these games are not console-quality. There are now a wide selection of high-quality 3D games on the app store, and the list is growing.

I actually directly mentioned Infinity Blade in another post. And I can certainly say that a game where you just swipe your finger really fast until your opponent falls is not console quality....

 

[fertilized-egg]

I actually directly mentioned Infinity Blade in another post. And I can certainly say that a game where you just swipe your finger really fast until your opponent falls is not console quality....

That's like saying Diablo isn't a real game because all you do is clicking on a mouse really fast. Isn't Infinity Blade basically Punch-Out!! done differently with a modern touch control and some RPG elements? I'm not sure if that's "console quality" but I don't see how that's any less serious than Nintendogs or Brain Age. How about XCOM, KOTOR, and Baldur's Gate on iOS. Does the NDS/3DS have anything as "mature" as those?

It's always surprising how close minded some gamers can be. Games are all about having fun and there are more than one way to make them. Nintendo games are known to be casual and fun, and fans of other consoles often attacked Nintendo for catering to the "casual" market. Yet here are Nintendo fans discounting the casual market. That's just ironic.

 

[Gudi]

Once Nintendo wakes up and realizes their power is in their software IP not janky hardware IP, they'll get on board with iOS and enjoy all the $$$ they're wasting on inaction.

Or reach a favorable deal with Sony. Refuse to pay licenses, but let Nintendo games run on PS4 exclusively, as a system seller advantage over XB1. Turn the Wii U into a mere 2nd-screen controller for the PS4. Close the rest of your hardware business. Insist on the right to market your own hardware software bundles. Speak of the Nintendo PlayStation as if it was your idea.

 

[cmChimera]

That's like saying Diablo isn't a real game because all you do is clicking on a mouse really fast. Isn't Infinity Blade basically Punch-Out!! done differently with a modern touch control and some RPG elements? I'm not sure if that's "console quality" but I don't see how that's any less serious than Nintendogs or Brain Age. How about XCOM, KOTOR, and Baldur's Gate on iOS. Does the NDS/3DS have anything as "mature" as those?

It's always surprising how close minded some gamers can be. Games are all about having fun and there are more than one way to make them. Nintendo games are known to be casual and fun, and fans of other consoles often attacked Nintendo for catering to the "casual" market. Yet here are Nintendo fans discounting the casual market. That's just ironic.

Let's use the Punch Out example. In Punch out, there are the fights, which do operate similarly to the concept Infinity Blade uses for its fights. However, in Infinity Blade, that experience is repeated ad nauseam. In Punch-Out, there are other activities in the game that deepen the experience. I also want to be clear that Punch-out came out for the NES. Pretty old game to compare a 2014 smartphone game to. Before you say, well there was a Punch-Out for the Wii, realize that game had motion controls and an experience that the iPhone can't currently match.

The other games you mentioned are all ports of console games. Old ones.

 

[fertilized-egg]

Let's use the Punch Out example. In Punch out, there are the fights, which do operate similarly to the concept Infinity Blade uses for its fights. However, in Infinity Blade, that experience is repeated ad nauseam.

Using different difficulties, items and monsters with graphics of much higher production value than many of the 3DS/NDS games though. That counts for something methinks. I have the Wii Punch-Out!! and I don't really see how it's that much deeper than the Infinity Blade.

The other games you mentioned are all ports of console games. Old ones.

The XCOM: Enemy Unknown first came out at the end of 2012 for the consoles and Windows/OSX. That doesn't sound too old to me.

Speaking ports does NDS or 3DS have any ports as mature and serious as the XCOM?

 

[cmChimera]

Using different difficulties, items and monsters with graphics of much higher production value than many of the 3DS/NDS games though. That counts for something methinks. I have the Wii Punch-Out!! and I don't really see how it's that much deeper than the Infinity Blade.

Personally, I feel that A Link Between Worlds is of much higher graphical quality than the Infinity Blade Trilogy. I can say the same for Kid Icarus Uprising, Fire Emblem Awakening and many others. I suppose that is subjective, but Infinity Blade is the equivalent of pre-rendered backgrounds in the 90's. It looks pretty because it doesn't have to do anything but be there. It has zero interactivity with the game-play.

The XCOM: Enemy Unknown first came out at the end of 2012 for the consoles and Windows/OSX. That doesn't sound too old to me.

That's fair enough, I wasn't aware that it was Enemy Unknown that was ported. Is there something specific about this game that you would like to point out?

Speaking ports does NDS or 3DS have any ports as mature and serious as the XCOM?

3DS doesn't have many ports, but it has plenty of original games. Are you asking if 3ds has serious games? Yes. Countless, but since I know you'll ask I'll just use Fire Emblem: Awakening again.

 

[fertilized-egg]

3DS doesn't have many ports, but it has plenty of original games. Are you asking if 3ds has serious games? Yes. Countless, but since I know you'll ask I'll just use Fire Emblem: Awakening again.

Is it as serious as XCOM? Based on the anime style graphic, it's really a teenager game and little else and doesn't compare to the seriousness of XCOM. If that's the best "serious" game 3DS can offer, the whole platform is for teenagers and not serious adult gamers.

.....just kidding. I love Fire Emblem, or more precisely I loved it when I used to play it on Genesis. But to be honest, there's little about Fire Emblem that makes it more "serious" than the XCOM. More importantly there's no reason Nintendo cannot make Fire Emblem for the iOS. Furthermore it could benefit from the much better hardware as well and be better on latest mobile phones compared to the 3DS.

I think that's part of the appeal in some ways. While hardware power isn't everything, Nintendo's current hardware is so much behind the latest smartphones and many of the DS/3DS games will work wonderfully on touch screens, but could have better graphics and playability on a tablet. I really enjoyed the Dragon Quest 9 on the NDS but even in 2011 when I played it, I just couldn't help but wonder what could've been if that game was made with optimization for modern smartphones.

 

[gkarris]

So instead of buying a real console or handheld devices, now they expect their customers to pay for basically an ad for their consoles or handheld devices?

Demos are free...

Not many gamers on this thread it seems...

"N64 uses carts? Nintendo is DEAD..." (and so is the Mac Mini...)

 

[newdeal]

But a demo on a touch device of a game that was designed for a device with physical input is going to SUCK and will have a negative effect on sales

 

[cmChimera]

Is it as serious as XCOM? Based on the anime style graphic, it's really a teenager game and little else and doesn't compare to the seriousness of XCOM. If that's the best "serious" game 3DS can offer, the whole platform is for teenagers and not serious adult gamers.

I almost flew into a rage.

I love Fire Emblem, or more precisely I loved it when I used to play it on Genesis.

Well it wasn't ever on the Genesis. Maybe you meant SNES? But they've only come to the US since 2003, so you may be confusing it with another game unless you're from Japan.

But to be honest, there's little about Fire Emblem that makes it more "serious" than the XCOM.

Well I never claimed it to be. I claimed that it was a better experience on a handheld or console than on a smartphone. I'm also not sure what you mean by "serious."

More importantly there's no reason Nintendo cannot make Fire Emblem for the iOS.

I disagree. I'm going to use a Link Between Worlds because I haven't played enough of FE to point out its features. A Link Between Worlds uses a Streetpass feature whenever you cross paths with another 3DS. This requires no interaction from the user. Just walk by a total stranger that has a 3DS, and StreetPass activates. In A link Between Worlds, a Dark Link will then appear in your game, representing the Link from the 3DS you passed. This Link is customizable from within the game, and the game assigns a bounty you can win from defeating this Link. This is not possible on iOS. It may one day be, but at the moment it's not. And Nintendo uses features such as these to increase the value of their games. They need to be in control of their hardware to do that.

Furthermore it could benefit from the much better hardware as well and be better on latest mobile phones compared to the 3DS.

I don't think my iPhone 5s can outperform my 3DS when it comes to gaming just yet. I have not seen anything that compares graphically, and I certainly haven't seen anything that rivals physical controls.

I think that's part of the appeal in some ways. While hardware power isn't everything, Nintendo's current hardware is so much behind the latest smartphones and many of the DS/3DS games will work wonderfully on touch screens, but could have better graphics and playability on a tablet.

I should also note that the iPhone does not have 3d, making games like a Link Between Worlds a downgraded experience on a smartphone (Not that I even think the game could run at the 60fps it does on an iPhone). [/QUOTE]

 

[CReimer]

Imagine if Apple had listened to people like you back in the 90's... I guess Steve Jobs was stupid for not bringing Apple out of the hardware business before it was too late...

I used to work for Accolade/Inforgrames/Atari (same company, different owners, multiple identity crisis) as a lead video game tester. I became a Nintendo guru with nine titles because the GameCube GameBoy Advance wasn't as sexy as the Playstation II or xBox.

Nintendo needs to get out of the hardware business. Third-party developers are required to conform to Nintendo's "standards" when submitting their titles for approval. BUT... Nintendo's "standards" are proprietary information. Unlike the hundreds of pages of standards from Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo provides nothing but a website for developers to complain about how badly they're being treated.

They wouldn't even provide an instruction manual for their debug console. I found out by accident that I needed to hold down a button to get feedback I needed to resolve a certain issue. By accident! If I asked Nintendo, the answer would be proprietary.

This became a very elaborate guessing game that led developers to drop support for the GameCube. I heard Nintendo lighten up for the Wii to get third-party publishers on board. Not sure if they ever published a set of standards. Nintendo might find it infuriating to follow Apple's standard.

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

Thank goodness.

I was worried Nintendo was about to announce that my Wii U was suddenly worth even less than I thought it was. What Nintendo really needs to do is they need to RELEASE SOME FREAKING GAMES. Over the years it seems like they've spun off an increasing number of their core franchises to outside developers. That needs to stop. Immediately. They're ruining great franchises. Hyrule Heros needs to get thrown in a waste bin right now, and one of the EAD teams (Nintendo's internal development teams) needs to work on a solid new Zelda. Get another team on a new Star Fox. Get another team on a new Metroid. Or FZero. Or Mario. Also, freaking release that Yoshi game.

Maybe what Nintendo really needs is some new internal developer tools or something. IDK, they just develop games so freaking slowly right now. I realize that making games fun is actually a surprisingly hard part of making games, but it's not very time consuming (it's more brainpower consuming. You need to think up concepts that mix together to make for a fun and intuitive experience.) It seems to me they're spending too much time making assets for their games. IDK what's going on on the inside, but that's what I see from the outside.

 

[bdkennedy1]

Nintendo just doesn't get it. Their hardware is done.

I've been a Nintendo fan since the 80's and have owned every console since then, except the Wii U. I have no desire to own the Wii U because I'm not stupid. It's simply a hardware extension of the original Wii because engineers couldn't figure out what else to do. It's cheap and it feels cheap.

Additionally, where are the games? I'm tired of playing rehashes of games released for previous consoles.

As a matter of fact, I may be so bold as to state this is the last generation of game consoles unless they can do 3D. Game consoles are going to suffer Windows XP syndrome - they are just good enough. People just want to play a game, not set up a ton of configuration and controller buttons.

Nintendo needs to go into lock down mode and make all of their titles available on mobile devices in the next 2 years. If they don't do this they will have to sell their software to 3rd parties to avoid bankruptcy.

Nintendo, meet Microsoft.